FAO/PL:1968/M/9/1

    WHO/FOOD ADD./69.35

    1968 EVALUATIONS OF SOME PESTICIDE RESIDUES IN FOOD

    THE MONOGRAPHS

    Issued jointly by FAO and WHO

    The content of this document is the result of the deliberations of the
    Joint Meeting of the FAO Working Party of Experts and the WHO Expert
    Committee on Pesticide Residues, which met in Geneva, 9-16 December,
    1968.

    FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS

    WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION

    Geneva, 1969

    DIELDRIN

    Since the previous evaluation (FAO/WHO, 1968) additional data has
    become available and is summarized and discussed in the following
    monograph addendum.

    RESIDUES IN FOOD AND THEIR EVALUATION

    Background

    At the Third Session of the Codex Committee on Pesticide Residues the
    delegation of Australia requested the Joint Meeting to consider the
    advisability of recommending practical residue limits in eggs (CCPR,
    1968) and furnished supporting data.

    Residues resulting from supervised trials

    Reports of experimental work involving the feeding of hens and of
    ducks with feeds containing known residues of dieldrin were
    considered. After feeding hens diets containing 0.45, 0.15 and 0.05
    ppm, residues in eggs reached steady states at 0.50, 0.18 and 0.05
    ppm, the average pre-feeding level being 0.006 ppm (Cummings, 1968).
    Feeding white leghorns with rice bran contaminated at 0.03 ppm as 20
    per cent of the diet, corresponding 0.006 in the total diet, resulted
    in residues of 0.01 to 0.02 ppm in eggs (Graves, private
    communication). After feeding daily doses of 0.1 mg HEOD to ducks for
    five days per week over a total of 152 days, the egg yolk was found to
    contain 1.47 ppm HEOD (Shell, private communication).

    Evidence of residues in food in commerce or at consumption

    Surveys undertaken in the United States of America, the United Kingdom
    and Australia have each shown residues of dieldrin in eggs. In the
    United Kingdom they reached 0.06 ppm (Findlay, 1968). In the United
    States during 1964 to 1967 they were found in over 20 per cent of
    domestic and 6 per cent of imported samples (Duggan and Dawson,
    1967). Of pulped egg samples examined in Australia 5.5 per cent
    contained dieldrin; almost all positive samples being less than 0.1
    ppm (Australia, 1968).

    The meeting was not aware of any recommended uses of dieldrin upon
    poultry or their runs or houses. We therefore believe these residues
    are arising from the unintentional contamination of their feed which
    in many instances contains products other than cereals.

    RECOMMENDATIONS FOR TOLERANCES AND PRACTICAL RESIDUE LIMITS

    In addition to the previously recommended temporary tolerances and
    practical residue limits to be in effect until 1972:

         Vegetables and fruit (other than citrus fruit)    0.1 ppm
         Citrus fruit, rice                                0.05 ppm

         Raw cereals                                       0.02 ppm
         Milk products (on a fat basis)                    0.125 ppm
         Meat (on a fat basis)                             0.2 ppm
         Whole milk                                        0.005 ppm

    The meeting also recommends the following practical residue limit to
    be in effect until 1972:

         Eggs (on a shell-free basis)                      0.1 ppm

    The above temporary tolerances and practical residue limits are to
    apply to raw agricultural products moving in commerce unless otherwise
    indicated. In the case of fruit and vegetables the tolerances should
    be applied as soon as practicable after harvest and in any event prior
    to actual retail to the public. In the case of commodities entering
    international trade, the tolerances should be applied by the importing
    country at the point of entry or as soon as practicable thereafter.

    REFERENCES

    Australia. (1968) Submission to 1968 Joint Meeting of the FAO Working
    Party of Experts and the WHO Expert Committee on Pesticide Residues.
    Prepared by the Australian Delegation to the Codex: Committee on
    Pesticide Residues

    CCPR. (1968) Report of the 3rd Session of the Codex Committee on 1968 
    Pesticide Residues (ALINORM 69/24)

    Cummings, J. G. et al. (1966) Residues in eggs from low level feeding
    of five chlorinated hydrocarbon insecticides to hens. J. Assoc. Off.
    Agr. Chem., 49: 354-364

    Duggan, R. E. and Dawson, K. (1967) Pesticides: A report on residues
    in food. FDA Papers, 1: 2-5

    FAO/WHO. (1968) 1967 Evaluations of some pesticide residues in food
    (FAO, PL:1967/M/11/1; WHO/Food Add./68.30)

    Findlay, E. and Hamilton, G. A. (1968) Pesticide residues in food
    stuffs in Great Britain. VIII - Organochlorine pesticide residues in
    eggs and poultry. Jour. Sci. Food Agr., 19: 609-611
    

    See Also:
       Toxicological Abbreviations
       Dieldrin (ICSC)
       Dieldrin (PIM 575)
       Dieldrin (FAO Meeting Report PL/1965/10/1)
       Dieldrin (FAO/PL:CP/15)
       Dieldrin (FAO/PL:1967/M/11/1)
       Dieldrin (FAO/PL:1969/M/17/1)
       Dieldrin (AGP:1970/M/12/1)
       Dieldrin  (IARC Summary & Evaluation, Supplement7, 1987)
       Dieldrin (IARC Summary & Evaluation, Volume 5, 1974)